Back three

Perhaps the only weakness you can find in Queensland's fullback-wings combination is the fact Brent Tate, who has represented his state 15 times, is playing out of position. But he does it damn well. Billy Slater is the world's most exciting player while Darius Boyd's off-field reticence probably does detract from his accomplishments on the pitch, but shouldn't. Jarryd Hayne, Brett Morris and Blake Ferguson are a far less certain commodity. Fullback is Hayne's best position but he is playing in a poorly performing club team, Morris is a proven performer but not in the best form of his career and as a debutant, there must be some uncertainty surrounding Ferguson.New South Wales 7/10Queensland 9/10

Centres

Greg Inglis is most observers' choice as the leading player in the game today. He is a brutal defender, an at-times unstoppable ball-carrier and the only possible solace the Blues can take in his presence is that he's been at fullback for South Sydney. Apparently, he'll pop up there at times on Wednesday. Justin Hodges admits to having considered representative retirement but will be Inglis's centre partner at the World Cup if he doesn't. Michael Jennings has finally found come consistency at Sydney Roosters this year and Josh Morris is an elite player – but these two aren't quite in the same league as their opponents.New South Wales 7/10Queensland 10/10

Halves

Again, despite the declarations of self-confidence from the Blues camp, the Maroons have a massive advantage on paper – and here on the internet – at the scrumbase. Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk form a double-act that stands alongside Lewis and Langer. Thurston's slightly below average club form is the only negative. By comparison, Mitchell Pearce may have needed the positive reinforcement of being told he had the seven shirt weeks in advance and James Maloney, like Ferguson, is a debutant with all the uncertainty that involves. Add that to the fact the Blues combination fared poorly at club level against Cronk a fortnight ago and you have a potential trumpcard for Mal Meninga's men.New South Wales 6/10Queensland 9/10

Back row

This is one area where the sides seem to be level-pegging. Nate Myles was player of the series last year but his Gold Coast club-mate Greg Bird excels at this level. Ryan Hoffman is back after four years out of the interstate arena, Luke Lewis has made the most of his move to Cronulla while Brisbane captain Sam Thaiday is a passionate Origin performer and Ashley Harrison has a wonderful record in Maroon that is often undersold. These six players shape as the men who could well decide the opening match of the series. Thaiday reckons "brute force" is often the difference first up and that force will come from him and those in his position.New South Wales 8/10Queensland 8/10

Front row

If Billy Slater or Greg Inglis is not the best player in the world, then Cameron Smith is. As Australia captain, he has as much change of being deposed from the Australia No9 jersey as Trevor Gillmeister has of playing on Wednesday night. So this is a clear points decision for Queensland. The props are more evenly balanced. There's one of the imposing Cowboys pair on each side – but North Queensland are out of form. Paul Gallen is a statistical colossus while David Shillington is in the mould of Ashley Harrison in that he quietly gets the job done. So it's the No9s who make the difference up frontNew South Wales 8/10Queensland 9/10

Reserves

The only area where it can be convincingly argued that NSW have an advantage. Anthony Watmough has 16 Tests to his name, Andrew Fafita's most recent outing was a stormer for Cronulla, Trent Merrin has transformed himself into an 80 minute worker in an inconsistent team and Josh Reynolds plays with the aggression of a much bigger man. By comparison, Chris McQueen is a debutant, Matt Gillett and Corey Parker's club side is out-of-sorts and Ben Te'o has been distracted by an assault investigation. The Blues have the upper hand when it comes to the men getting splinters in their bums.New South Wales 8/10Queensland 6/10

The coaches

While pundits south of the border seem utterly convinced of Laurie Daley's mastery of Origin coaching, the fact remains that he hasn't done it before – at state or club level. Are City-Country and the All Star game a sufficiently-taxing preparation for an Origin coach? So the same level of uncertainty should be ascribed to Daley as to the debutants above. Mal Meninga's systems and routines, meanwhile, have been thoroughly tested and are proven to be successful. In assistant Michael Hagan he has a good technician with a premiership under his belt. Meninga's record speaks for itself; Daley has no record.New South Wales 6/10Queensland 10/10

Total

New South Wales 50/70Queensland 61/70

•Join us from 7pm tonight for live coverage of the first meeting in this year's State of Origin.

NRL State of Origin coaches, New South Wales' Laurie Daley and Mal Meninga of Queensland, hold a joint press conference in Sydney. New South Wales will host the first game of the three match series on Wednesday, June 5, against the Queensland visitors